Hero
by MusicalOne89
Summary: Throughout Hyrule, many whisper of the boy with the scar - a boy who was convicted of treason against the King of Hyrule and imprisoned for life in Lanaryu. Despite the rumors of the land, one guard of the Royal Family believes that the boy named Link was framed for devious reasons, and sets out to uncover the truth behind the boy's capture and the destruction of his village.
1. Chapter 1: The Boy with the Scar

**Author's note:**

_Hello, everyone! Thank you for reading this fan fiction. I have been a huge Zelda fan since I was about two, and there have been many things about the series that I have enjoyed. However, I decided to try a little experiment for myself: what would the Legend of Zelda look like if I wrote the story for it? What would I change, or what would the characters look like if I had control over their destinies? That's how "Hero" was born, and I'm happy you are along for the ride._

_I appreciate any constructive criticism and reviews! _

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: The Boy with the Scar <strong>

**RAIN POURED IN SHEETS** and unceasingly pounded the roof of the pub. A violent wind whipped the evergreens angrily, casting dark shadows across the stained glass windows. The room was dark – save a few lit candles that flickered in the updraft from the wind of passing strangers – and smelled of damp boots and cheap whiskey.

It was a quiet night at the tavern. Most of the regulars had stayed home to wait out the downpour until tomorrow. A stranger with a blue cloak pulled over her face drank at the bar – not wanting to be disturbed by the group of men who were chatting energetically behind her at a nearby table. However, due to their level of intoxication, she could not help (or want) to overhear them.

"I tell ya what," one of the men slurred loudly, laughing and smacking his mug of ale on the wood table, "I wish _I_ nabbed that goddamn felon! I would've fancied marryin' a lovely lady with that bounty." The man winked and grinned at Isabelle – a young waitress who had the misfortune of tending to their table – and she rolled her eyes.

"Honey, you're gonna need a lot more than _rupees_ to find yourself a wife. Only your mother could ever love a face like yours," she laughed, grabbing an empty pitcher from their table and walking back behind the bar. "Besides, that kid's been locked away at Lanaryu for a few weeks now."

"What was that sleazy little bastard wanted for anyway? Wasn't the entire Hyrulean army tearin' the land apart lookin' for him?" asked another man at the table. He wasn't so interested in having the question answered as he was just eyeballing the waitress' "goods" for a moment or two longer. Isabelle was not amused by their advances, and let out an audible sigh.

"Beats me," she shrugged, filling the pitcher with a fresh pint of Kakariko golden ale and placing it back on their table. She considered cutting them off at this point, but she didn't want to lose her tip on such a slow night. "I heard they wanted him for treason of the King, but who really knows…" she continued. "Apparently they found the fella hidin' out in Ordon Village

A man with a missing tooth leaned in at the table, quietly signaling his buddies and the waitress to do the same. He quickly glanced around the room to see if anyone was snooping on their "secret" meeting taking place at the table.

"Yeah, I heard the same thing," he whispered gruffly. "Rumor has it that the army set the whole _goddamn_ village on fire! Can you _believe_ that? A good buddy o' mine said that it was suspected that the guy was organizin' some sorta rebellion against the King or somethin' crazy like that… and the whole town was in on it! But the kid can't be any more than sixteen-years-old, so that doesn't make any goddamn sense. And the Hyrulean army won't let nobody pass into Ordona Province, let alone go near the village..."

"A _rebellion_…!?" Isabella gasped loudly. The entire tavern became quiet at once, the pub patrons suddenly staring at their table, except for the woman at the bar. Isabelle walked away to check on her other customers, her face red from her embarrassment and participation in their rumor-mongering.

"Honey, do you need anything else?" she gingerly asked the cloaked woman at the bar. For a brief moment, she saw the woman's face. The cloaked stranger's hair was snow white with a long strand that protruded from under her cloak and onto the table. Her red eyes stared back at the waitress for a passing moment, and then back down at the table again.

The mysterious woman shook her head silently, and continued to sip on her drink. The waitress returned to the men's table with another pint of ale, and the conversation picked back up where it left off.

"… Damn, only sixteen?" asked another stranger who had overheard the men's conversation at the table and decided to join in on the fun. "When I was his age, all I thought about were all the pretty lasses in Kakariko, not startin' a war!"

The table busted out laughing for a few moments, the men nodding unanimously in agreement. Isabelle was _not_ amused by their taste in humor. She was tempted to put an end to their unruly conversation, but she still had one question that still burned in the back of her mind.

"… so how did they know it was him?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her once again. "I've known plenty of stupid boys…" Isabelle paused for a moment to glare at the men gathered at the table – the men laughing at this gesture "…in my day. How the hell do they know that _this _kid was the leader of this 'rebellion?' "

"Apparently the boy some kind of weird scar," the man with the missing tooth said, taking another large slurp of his ale. "A merchant who was jus' passin' through Ordon to Snowpeak saw the scar with his own eyes and alerted some soldiers in Ordon Woods… I also heard he's the one who got the King's reward! He'll never have to work another day in his life, lucky bastard…"

At that moment, the woman who was sitting alone at the bar got up from her seat. The room became quiet again and the men's hysterics over ladies and rumors abruptly stopped. As the stranger walked past the table, Isabelle cautiously turned to her and asked: "You all done for tonight, hon?"

"Yes," the woman answered, her tone short. She pushed opened the tavern door – a rush of wind suddenly blowing out all of the candles in the room – and disappeared into the stormy night.

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><p><strong>LINK MOANED SOFTLY<strong>, returning to the unfriendly embrace of consciousness.

He slowly became aware of his surroundings: the floor was damp and cold against his bare, bruised torso. Fast, trickling rain seeped through the cracks of the walls through a tiny, unreachable window that he determined was there only to serve for ventilation purposes. On some nights, he would be treated to a sliver of moonlight from the window that painted part of the floor in a silvery glow. However, tonight there was no moon, and the cell remained dark and lifeless.

The teen lay silent on the squalid ground - his back facing away from the iron-barred door - and hoped that the guards down the hall would not notice that he was awake. Sleep held no solace for him from the guard's daily beatings. Painful memories infected his mind, turning his dreams into nightmares.

Link stared at the messages scrawled deeply into the walls, trying to take his concentration off of his thoughts. Most of the messages were illegible to him, written in the Hylian alphabet. Link's mother taught him to read a few words in Hylian, mainly for the purposes of reading maps and road signs, but he never had been able to read the ancient texts most learned in school.

However, one message carved in the wall stood out to him in particular. The combination of symbols looked strangely familiar to him, as if he had seen these words somewhere before…

Slowly forming the words in his mouth, he whispered the message to himself:

_Do not cry for me,  
><em>_Hylia will set me free._

_– S_.

He hummed the words under his breath for a moment – and then quietly sang the rest of the passage from memory:

_Do not cry for me,  
><em>_Hylia will set me free.  
><em>_In her embrace you will see  
><em>_Your bonds are broken  
><em>_And now you're free._

_On this earth we dwell  
><em>_For a limited time,  
><em>_All spirits are bound  
><em>_To Hers' divine._

_So please do not weep for me,  
><em>_My lady Hylia has set me free.  
><em>_Her arms are gentle,  
><em>_Her heart is kind,  
><em>_In Her Grace's arms,  
><em>_My soul you'll find._

Link recalled the song's origin from his memory: these lyrics were from _The Rite of Passing_ – a ceremony that marked the passing of the dead into the afterlife. He had only heard the song once in his life: once after the unexpected loss of his father years ago. During this ceremony, mourners sang and covered his father's body with flowers and offerings to the Goddess. Though Link was only ten at the time, he remembered the song and ceremony clearly, as well as the look of anguish on his mother's face…

Disturbed by his thoughts, Link shut his eyes to drown out the melody's grip on his mind.

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><p><strong>THE SOUND OF RAIN<strong> tapped lightly against the ground. Voices murmured in the distance, and then disappeared into the darkness…

The boy found himself fumbling in the dark, looking for a way out. Turning, he saw a single window suspended in the darkness. Flames engulfed the outside, turning the sky into violent hues of orange and red. The window flung open. A noxious mixture of black smoke and ash filled the air.

He choked and coughed, slowly suffocating from the fumes. He could feel Death creep before him, ready to wretch its claws into his dying soul. Falling to his knees, he then heard a familiar voice, calling out to him in the darkness.

_Link…_

With all of his strength, he pushed himself off the ground and searched the abyss for the sound's source. Turning, he saw his mother. Her body was draped in beautiful flowers, a gaping hole in her chest.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, no sound coming from her mouth. Her face was a sickly pale white. Link turned away in shock, his legs telling him to run. Suddenly, he felt a blinding pain in his left hand. He cried in agony – the pain burned through him like a fire that could not be controlled. Looking down, he realized that his hand… and then his arm… and then his entire body was consumed in flames!

He screamed and screamed, unable to stop the heat from ripping his body apart. Raising his hand to the level of his eyes, he saw the source of the blaze: a red-hot scar that glowed as brightly as the sun – the shape of three golden triangles.

Upon sight of the blazing mark, Link succumbed to the inferno that consumed his body, falling back into a deep darkness once again.


	2. Chapter 2: Shadow of the Land

**Author Update (Oct. 11, 2014)**

Hi everyone! I just wanted to give you guys a quick update. I planned on updating this fic weekly, but I recently got laid off from my full-time job, so updates for this fic will vary depending on how things are going. I still plan on writing and finishing the story, but I need to focus on other matters as well. Writing this story keeps me sane, so I will continue to work on it for as long as I can. I appreciate any feedback you give me, as well as any good wishes.

May Hylia bless you.

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><p><strong>CHAPTER 2: SHADOW OF THE LAND<strong>

**THE SUN ROSE ABOVE THE SNOWPEAK MOUNTAINS**, casting its brilliant rays upon the shimmering earth. This beacon of light signaled an end to the dark storms that plagued the land from the night before, leaving behind a dense, cool fog in the valleys of Ordona Province.

A silhouette wandered through the surrounding forest, obscured in the distance by the fog. The shadow slid quickly among the trees, as quiet as a wind that rustled the thick forest undergrowth – her rain-soaked cloak barely brushing against the dead leaves that covered the ground.

Impa was exhausted from her overnight journey from Kakariko, trudging miles in the storms from the dark tavern to Ordona Province. What she was doing was simply dangerous – if not outright _reckless_ on her part – but the Sheikah knew she had no choice. She had to see for herself… She had to know if Ordon was…

The endless forest suddenly stopped and Impa found herself running upon a cliff that jutted perilously over the valley. Digging her sandals into the wet ground and sliding forward, she came to an abrupt stop before the cliff's edge.

_Hylia's harp, that was close! _She thought, feeling unwise for becoming distracted by her thoughts. Impa carefully peered down from the edge and saw thousands of mossy rocks protrude sharply below, all the way into the valley's base.

The Sheikah was not prepared for what she saw next: the base of the entire valley was charred black. Ordon's lush fields that were once ripe with pumpkins and squash were completely decimated, the ground covered in an ashy, dark gray. Nothing remained. Not a house, or a tree, or even a wildflower.

Though the rain cleared away any lasting remnants of smoke, Impa could still smell a pungent fume that clung to the air – most likely the gas that was used to ignite the flame. There was only one way out of the valley – to the west, facing the massive forest that covered most of Ordona. Given how coordinated this attack was, she knew that most of the villagers never made it out alive. Many didn't even know there was a fire until it was too late…

"…Dammit!" Impa cried loudly. Her stomach twisted into a sickening knot, envisioning the screams of terror and pain. She put her hands on her head, pulling her eyes open in shock. "Why… why did I allow this to happen? I was such a fool…"

Impa froze for a moment, and her breath became still. Though she was lost in her sorrow, she knew she heard something from within the woods…

Turning around, she saw not one, or two, but five figures exit from the thick forest – the tallest man leading the group. The men donned heavy chain mail and dark-blue tunics – the same shade of Impa's cloak – with the Royal Crest of Hyrule adorned in the center of their chests. Impa immediately recognized them as Hyrulean soldiers – possibly the same regiment that was preventing people from entering Ordon Village from the outside, or even the same regiment that…

Her right hand griped the hilt of her sheathed silver rapier, a gift that was bestowed upon her by Princess Zelda for years of service to the Royal Family. Though it was not her first weapon of choice for this situation, the Sheikah cherished the sword, and took it whenever she traveled away from the castle. The blade did not matter: she could kill with a Deku stick if she had to.

"My, look who's here. Did you forget something, Impa? Or were you just sight-seeing?" The tallest solider smiled, a wide smirk on his face.

The man stepped forward casually. He smiled, and offered his hand in a gesture of friendship. Confused by this act of false kindness, Impa realized that the man was not merely your average soldier…

"Commander Rein," she responded curtly, ignoring his open hand. Impa's blood boiled, and it took every ounce of self-control to stop her from carving the smirk right off of his face with her sword. Rein could sense the growing tension and coughed, as if to clear the deadened air.

"Aren't you supposed to be back at the castle, guarding the Princess?" he asked inquisitively.

"Couldn't the same be said for you and your troops, commander?" she retorted, anger seeping into her voice.

"I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, Sheikah. I'd advise you to follow suit."

"And I am exactly where I should be as well, _sir_," Impa said roughly, trying to keep her voice from quivering. It was hard to contain her ire at this point, and Rein's derisive tone just continued to simply piss her off…

"Tell me commander, why was this village razed by your troops?" she continued.

"Well of all people, you should know, my dear Impa!" Rein said, laughing as if he was answering a child's questions. "You've heard the rumors, haven't you? The seeds of a rebellion grew in this _pathetic_ little village – we simply salted the earth. Sometimes you have to destroy the crop to protect the harvest."

"So by '_salting the earth_,' you commanded your troops to slaughter every man, woman, and child in Ordon?" she asked, her voice rising with anger. "All of this bloodshed for what? A simple _boy_? What harm could he have brought to you?"

"Impa, it is not my job to question the morality of our King's orders," he replied, his voice also beginning to rise. "It is my responsibility to eliminate any foreseeable threat to His Majesty's sovereignty over Hyrule."

"What _threat_, Commander?" she asked, now yelling. She gestured to the blackened earth beyond the cliff. "The boy – if he was even a "threat" – was captured long ago, and yet your army remains here in this province guarding a smoldering pile of ash and bones. Just what exactly are you trying to hide?"

At that particular moment, the Sheikah seemed to hit some sort of nerve. Rein moved in on Impa –grabbing her blue tunic with an iron grip – and yelled into her face.

"I don't know who gave you the _authority_ to speak to your superior in such a manner," Rein growled, his face inflamed with rage, "but my troops are simply here following His Majesty's orders. As your commander, I order you to return to your post at the castle. If you refuse, I will have you arrested."

"On what charges?" the Sheikah snarled, gritting her teeth. Impa's hand tightened on her sword. "Or would you prefer to just _kill_ me first like you did all of the others?"

Commander Rein stood his ground for a moment… and then laughed. He abruptly released his grip on her tunic, to the woman's relief.

"My, _my_ Sheikah…" he said shaking his head, still amused by this woman's imprudence. "I don't know if you are brave, or just senseless. It looks like you and that kid have a lot in common."

The commander motioned to his regiment, and they turned to walk back into the woods. He was done playing games with this imp.

"Rein!" Impa cried out angrily. "Where are you going?! This isn't _over_!"

"Impa, we have more important things to do than fight a sorry excuse for a castle guard," Rein waved apathetically. "Please give the Princess my regards."

The Sheikah stood in shock as the men returned into the forest. Their shadows disappeared into the morning fog, and Impa was left alone once again.

The crushed woman turned back toward the cliff, facing the scorched earth that once marked Ordon. Wet, angry tears pooled in her eyes from the confrontation. Impa wanted nothing more than to kill that murderous bastard, and yet again she did nothing! She failed the people of Ordon not once, but twice…

At that moment, she knew what she had to do. Pulling the cloak's hood over her face, she spun around, making a direct beeline for the woods.

Ordon Village was gone, but the boy with the scar still lived. And whatever Rein planned on doing with the boy, she had to stop him at all costs.


	3. Chapter 3: Terrible Fate

**Author Update:**

Hi everyone. This chapter will be a short update. I recently was laid off from my full-time job (I just moved here a few months ago and then this. :/), so the updates may vary in length. I am working on chapters as I am job-searching. I may also be collaborating with another writer for this story, as I want to finish this fic.

Anyway, many of you wanted Link's perspective, so here ya go! :) Please let me know what you think. As always, I appreciate the reviews, encouragement, and support.

~MusicalOne89

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Terrible Fate<strong>

OPENING HIS EYES SLOWLY, Link saw nothing but white. Everything was still – quiet even. He bathed in the warmth, wondering if this light that covered him was truly real, or if the darkness was deceiving him once again.

His eyes flickered open once more, carefully adjusting to its surroundings. The sun streamed in through the tiny vent near the top of the ceiling, covering the cell in a white radiance. In this glow, dust mites twirled, gliding freely through the air – wandering, meandering… lingering among the sun's golden rays. Lying on his back, he watched the specks dance: the dust unaware of their unwelcomed bliss in this place of solitude.

Irritated, the boy sat up from the cold floor, leaning his fatigued form against the rigid wall. He buried his face into his arms, wanting nothing more than to sob – but no tears came. Link had no tears left to cry.

It had been countless moons since he was arrested and taken to Lanaryu Prison. He tried to keep track at first, just to see how much time had passed while he waited to be released.

Link believed that his captors would eventually realize that this was all a terrible mistake. That whatever crime he was accused of committing – though he was never told _what_ crime exactly – his name would be cleared and he would be set free. This all had to be a mistake… right?

As the days slowly turned into nights, the boy soon realized that his fantasies of being freed were just that: fantasies. The boy stopped keeping track of time, and he slipped into a haze of sadness and depression.

On some of these days, the prison guards would come and harass him. The men would kick the prisoner with their steel-toed boots, dump his food provisions on the floor, and beat him. The guards' interrogations would last for what seemed like hours, the men shouting the same question over and over again until Link couldn't comprehend the words anymore.

_Where did you get that scar, boy?_

The question was a simple one, but one the boy could not answer. He simply did not _know_ the answer, which angered the guards even more... Day in and day out, they would beat him, dragging him by his messy blonde hair across his cell. They whipped him with blunt rods and chains… punched him for withdrawing, and taunted him for his failure to fight back.

And at the end of violent rage, the guards would leave the boy crumpled in a heap on the floor. He would lie on that stone floor for hours, wishing for death to take him away from the suffering and pain. He wished he knew the answer to their questions, just so he could be left alone to fade away.

Link shifted uncomfortably against the wall, scraping his bruised back against the stone. He used to never think of such dark things. He never wished to die. Not until...

Link lifted his head from his arms for just a moment, and looked across the sunlit cell. Sitting on the other side of the room, was a man. The man was significantly older than the boy – having to be _at least_ eighty-years-old – and was dressed in tan robes that were dingy and ragged. The elder stared back at the boy, sitting in the same position from across the room.

"…W-who are you?" Link asked feebly, talking what _had_ to be a hallucination. He suddenly felt like he was going mad. There was no way this man was _really_ in this cell… right?

The man sat in silence, continuing to stare at the boy with his wrinkled, gray eyes. Link became extremely uncomfortable and decided to ask the question one more time, though he did not expect an answer...

"Who are you—?"  
>"You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" the man interrupted, his voice as ragged as his robe.<p>

The prisoner looked at the man for a moment in a stunned silence.

"Many have passed through this cell," the raspy voice said. "I have seen the days turn to nights and the nights turn to days. But I have never seen a child as troubled as you."

"I… don't understand," Link hesitated, still unsure of how his delusions could speak. He wanted to slap himself to see if he was still dreaming. "How did you get in here—?"

"I have always been here, like the writing behind you on the wall," he interrupted again. "I am Sahasrahla, the spirit of Lanaryu."


End file.
